A Holiday Turkey Tray is a whole Turkey broken down and cooked, while the bones are used to make the Stock. You get nice crispy skin, perfectly seasoned, juicy meat with thinly sliced Turkey breast and stripped off the bone dark meat, all laid out in a presentation tray. It's just the best way to not only prepare your Holiday Turkey. But to present it as well for everyone to help themselves, loading their plates up to make their custom Holiday Turkey Meal.The recipe is split over two days, with the first day breaking down the Turkey and seasoning to refrigerate overnight. While at the same time using the Carcass to make the Turkey Stock to be refrigerated overnight. So we can get both the Turkey Stock and fat to make the Gravy.
Servings: 8 portions
Equipment
- 1 Large Sheet Pan with Rack
- 1 Stock Pot
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Oven Safe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 12 lbs Turkey - can use smaller or larger
Turkey Seasoning
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt & Savory - each, or other choice of Herb/s.
- 1 Tbl Chicken Powder or Magic Sarap - Optional
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Turkey Stock
- Carcass, Bones, Neck Bone, Trimmings, and Skin - Chop the skin in small pieces
- 16 C Water
- 3 Cloves Garlic - crushed
- 1 Large Onion - skin on chopped in half
- 2 Carrots - snapped in half
- 2 Celery - snapped in half
- 1 tsp Black Peppercorn & Savory - each
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Whole Clove
Turkey Gravy
- 1/3 C Rendered Turkey Fat - top off with Turkey Drippings or Butter if you don't have enough
- 1/3 C Flour
- 3-5 C Turkey Stock
- 1 tsp Savory
- 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar - or use 4 ice cubes of frozen Poultry brine
- To taste Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Break the Turkey down into each piece consisting of Wings (Drumette & Flat separated, Tips added to the stock pot), Thighs, Legs, Breast. Place backbone, trimmings and Skin chopped into small pieces into the Stock pot.
- Place the individual Turkey pieces on a wired rack within a large, shallow pan. Combine the Turkey Seasoning blend to season each piece. Refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
- Add all the remaining ingredients for the Stock into the Stock pot. Bring to just a boil, before reducing the heat to medium and scoop off the scum on the surface. Keep simmering for 4 hours or more. If you run low on water, top it off.
- Gently strain out the Stock, discarding the contents. Wash the pot and place the stock back into the pot. Place the stock pot in the sink and fill the sink up with cold water until it reaches the same level as the amount of stock in the pot. Leave until the Stock has cooled down, no longer than 1 hour. Transfer to the fridge to chill overnight once it has cooled.
- The next day, remove the Turkey from the Fridge and leave on the counter while the oven preheats to 375 F. Reposition the pieces so they are not stuck to the rack. Scoop off the fat from the Stock pot and place the fat into a saucepan over medium heat. Place the Stock on the back burner over max heat and reduce until good flavor, drop the heat to low to keep warm or remove from the heat. Continue to cook the Fat until there is no more wisp of moisture escaping the fat. Set the fat aside to cool.
- Place the Turkey in the oven with a Thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the Breast. Cook until an internal temperature of 157 F. Remove the Breast, Drumettes & Flats and let cool. Insert the Thermometer into the meatiest part of the thigh away from any bones and cook until an internal temperature of 175 F or higher. Remove and let cool.
- Melt Turkey fat over medium heat in a sauce pan. Add the Flour and whisk. Continue to whisk frequently until the roux comes to a medium brown color. Add the Turkey Stock, a little at a time, while whisking until thickened. Repeat until the gravy is the desired thickness. Add the seasoning, taste and adjust. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting until ready to serve.
- Strip the meat from the Thighs & Legs, or leave the Legs intact. Do the same for the Wings, or leave intact. Slice the Turkey Breast across the grain into thin slices with a very sharp knife. Transfer all the meat to a presentation pan and drizzle over any pan drippings over the meat. Serve the tray of Turkey at the table along with the Turkey Gravy.
Notes
Specialty meats like the Turkey Oysters and the Tenderloin Strips can be cut out and prepared separately. Like seared Turkey Oysters (For the Chef), and Seared Turkey Loin or maybe bread and deep fry or make Turkey Nuggets. The Neck Bone meat can be stripped off an included in the Gravy. The Giblets can be cooked or used to make a Pate.
If you want the Gravy a bit thicker, combine equal parts Butter & Flour and form into a paste. Add it to the simmering Gravy while whisking. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
Add 4 Ice Cubes of Poultry Brine or about 1/4 C to really elevate the flavors!
If you want a stronger broth flavor, add Chicken Bouillon Cubes and then adjust the seasoning with Salt & Pepper if needed.